Magnetic structure of 001 tilt grain boundaries in bcc Fe studied viamagnetic potentials

A Mutter and BJ Wang and J Meiser and P Umstatter and HM Urbassek, PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE, 97, 3027-3041 (2017).

DOI: 10.1080/14786435.2017.1364439

Using magnetic potentials and a molecular statics approach, we study the changes in the magnetic structure of bcc Fe in the vicinity of grain boundaries (GBs). We focus on symmetric tilt GBs around the 0 0 1 axis with a tilt angle between 7 degrees and 53 degrees. We find that immediately in the GB plane, the deviations in the magnetic moments from the bulk value are most pronounced. The distribution of moments in the GB plane is modulated according to the periodicity of the coincidence site lattice. In the direction perpendicular to the GB plane, the moments decay exponentially towards the bulk value; the decay length increases with decreasing tilt angle. This dependence can be explained by the well-known stress field around GBs.

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